NASCAR returned to its roots with a fight-free preseason exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium and a popular victory with Chase Elliott winning The Clash on Sunday night. Elliott won his heat Saturday night to start from the pole and essentially dominate on the quarter-mile track where NASCAR’s Cup Series last raced in 1971. NASCAR’s reigning most popular driver won The Clash for the first time in his career and joined his father, Bill, as winners of the unofficial season-opener. Bill Elliott won The Clash in 1987 and then parlayed that victory into a win in the Daytona 500 one week later. Chase Elliott gets his chance to repeat his father’s dominance when NASCAR’s season officially opens Feb. 16 at Daytona International Speedway. “Excited to get to Daytona. It´s a great way to start the season,” Elliott said. “I know it´s not a points race, but it is nice to win, for sure. Just really proud of our team for just continuing to keep our heads down and push forward, for sure.” The Clash is a non-points event that was held at Daytona International Speedway from 1979 to 2021 as the warm-up act to the Daytona 500. NASCAR stepped outside the box in 2022 and moved it across the country to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was transformed into a temporary short track for three seasons. NASCAR this year moved it to Bowman Gray in a throwback to grassroots racing. The Cup Series ran at Bowman Gray from 1958 to 1971 and the stadium is now used for weekly local racing and is the football field for Winston-Salem State University. The track is notorious for flared tempers and fighting, but made it through two days of NASCAR racing without a single brawl.